Geoffrey Bawa - Sri Lanka

The only thing I knew about Sri Lanka before I blindly booked my flight there was Geoffrey Bawa. Thanks to my dad, who gave me a Bawa book for Christmas, I was introduced to the works of this architect.  

Despite his late entry into architecture, Geoffrey Bawa, (July 23, 1919 – May 27, 2003), explored modernism and its cultural implications and created a unique, recognizable style of design which had a lasting impact on architects across the world. He was one of the proponents of Tropical Modernism, a design movement in which sensitivity to local context combines with the form-making principles of modernism. In easier terms: he used the environment as part of his architecture, understanding nature. 

Bawa’s architecture led to the formation of a new architectural identity and aesthetic for many tropical environments, and won him recognition and awards, including the Chairman’s Award of Architecture and the title Deshamanya (the second highest civilian honour in the country), in recognition of his contributions to his country by the government of Sri Lanka. 

Bawa's style of architecture was simple yet revolutionary for its time. He used traditional building materials and factored in local climate in his designs, keeping costs low. With his influences scattered across Colombo, Bali and Singapore. Bawa essentially created a new vernacular style of architecture that was suited to the hot, humid climate of Sri Lanka (and most of Asia), and of course Mauritius. Eventually, his signature became a combination of modernist architectural elements and traditional Sri Lankan building style. 

Our house in Mauritius is inspired by him. And anyone who knows our house knows that it's totally adapted to the Mauritian weather. And why his work is not more popular is a mystery to me, even more so in Mauritius. 

When Ceylon got its independence from Great Britain in 1972, the government commissioned Bawa to design the new Sri Lankan parliament. It was one of his biggest projects at the time and gave him some international attention. The site was originally a marsh and dredged to form an island where Bawa created a group of collonaded pavilions with striking copper roofs. The completed parliament gave the illusion of a palace floating on an unbroken surface of water. It's definitely worth a visit. 

But Bawa’s Tropical Modernism is not the only type of architecture you’ll find in Sri Lanka. The late Dutch colonial style is still very much alive. The old town of Galle is the perfect example, this charming fisherman town is filled with beautiful colonial buildings. Totally worth a visit as well. 

One of my favourite things about travelling is most definitely the cultural part of it. I plan on studying architecture in a couple of months and I will never learn as much as I've learnt exploring the different styles of architecture that I've seen throughout the year. Textbooks can teach me more about the technicalities of it but experiencing the social and environmental context of the place has given me a better understanding of architecture and its importance. How and why we build, the importance of the historical context and the impact of a building in its own world. 

Something beautiful I learnt about architecture is the stories it carries, not only History but also the personal stories behind the different buildings. 

Bawa is a sad example of this. Sri Lanka, like most of Asia, is still a very conservative country and homosexuality is an issue. When Bawa went to London to study he found himself exploring his sexuality and he was known to be quite a dandy, and going back home he had to suppress his sexuality. Even though he was one of the most affluent personalities in Sri Lanka and worked with the government he always hid his sexuality (which was actually known widely around the country). He died a lonely man, devoting his whole life to his works. Even though his homosexuality was known by everyone they decided to silence it and the situation has not gotten any better even two decades after his death.